Summer 2015

The latest addition to Urban Decay’s Naked line is the Naked Smoky Palette ($54 for 12 shadows 1.3g each + a dual ended brush). I think it’s a glorious palette and am completely over the moon with it. I had been counting the days to the release date as I’m a huge fan of all the Naked Eyeshadow Palettes (yes, all of them). When I saw previews I was worried this might be too cool-toned for my olive skin. I usually need a mix of some warm shadows otherwise colors look very grey on me. The Naked Smoky Palette has a really good mix of neutral and cool shades, all of which layer beautifully together.

Naked Smoky has 12 shades in a magnetic mirrored compact. Out of all the Naked 12 Pan Palettes, this release has the best packaging. It’s sleek with a super modern look and sturdy feel. The brush is also the best one I’ve tried out of the three palettes I own. One end has a small domed tip which is really quite incredible for applying the darker shades along the upper lashes. The other end is fluffy and picks up a good amount of product and blends nicely.

The shades range from high shimmers, one glitter, a few satiny shimmer shades, and four matte colors. All the Urban Decay colors I’ve tried (palettes and singles) are typically very soft and feel buttery smooth when you apply them. They’re almost like velvet and sometimes there is a bit of debris that can fall off the brush but once color is on the lid it stays put. The textures in this palette seem to be a bit harder than most other Urban Decay shadows I’ve tried making some of them colors a bit sheerer on their own, but pigment and quality is still very good.

High is a highly pigmented pretty champagne beige shimmer (it’s a bit darker and less pink than Sin)

Dirtysweet is a pigmented warm copper tan frost with shimmer flecks (it’s like Half Baked but a bit more muted)

Radar is semi-sheer warm bronze shimmer, texture is bit harder compared to the others making it a bit sheer but this one still has good pigment

Armor is the only glitter shade, it’s a glorious grey taupe shimmer with silver glitter flecks, there is fall out when you apply it (it will fall off the brush) but once it’s on the lids, it stays put

Slanted is a sheer silver with a blue undertone, it makes a lovely sheer wash or a good blending color to soften the darker colors, if you want a high impact silver you might find this lacking

Dagger is a satin grey black, there’s a tiny bit of shimmer, but it looks more matte on me, it also has a hard texture but I like this applied with a detail brush over eyeliner to intensify a smoky look

Black Market is a muted black satin, this one is also harder in texture making it a softer smoky black, I like to use it with the small end of the Smoky brush to create a blurred line across the upper lash line, it’s a black that is goof-proof if you apply in small strokes

Smolder is a medium pigmented deep purple shimmer, this one works best over a creamy primer or creamy eyeshadow as a base to help bring out the color

Password is a matte grey brown with a smooth texture, I like layering this on top of other shadows to create a soft smoky gradiant

Whiskey is a warm matte brown that an ultra smooth texture

Combust is a greyed mauve pink matte which is so pretty on the lids

Thirteen is a super pigmented pale matte pink

I pulled the other three Naked Palettes for comparisons of the colors and brushes:

Swatched on Chanel Beige 40 skin:

Brush comparisons:

Eye swatches below with High all over the lids, Dirty Sweet + Armor layered and a tiny bit of Black Market applied wet as a liner over Zero 24/7 Eyeliner

Based on feedback on other reviews I’ve done on the Urban Decay Naked
Palettes, I think your mileage may vary depending on your shimmer preferences.
Many of the shades in the palettes have a frost or metallic finish but I
find them very wearable for even conservative makeup lovers. That being
said if you can’t wear shadows with a lot of shimmer, I
recommend the Naked Basics, Naked2 Basics or Edward Bess Matte Artiste if you want a good palette of neutrals.

Out of the four 12-pan Naked Palettes, my favorites are still tied between Naked2 and Naked3. The new Naked Smoky is quite amazing and since I really like the others I find it a must-have even though I could probably create something similar by mixing and layering the others. That being said the colors are unique and I like that there are no repeat shades in this palette compared to the other ones. I almost always bring one of the Naked Palettes with me when I travel – I find them versatile and I think the neutral beige/tan shimmers are really pretty. Each palette has enough colors to take a look from day to night, for any occasion. The look I did above is super natural with the lighter shades, but you can layer the darker colors for a smoky look. I give this one a huge thumbs up – it’s the perfect naked version of a smoky palette.

Rescue Beauty Lounge has teamed up with five amazing nail bloggers Makeup Withdrawal, Manicurator, Peachy Polish, Refined and Polished and Warmvanillasugar0823 to create a new collection of nail polishes. I received news that these launched while I was away last month and was thrilled to come home to a lovely package from Rescue Beauty Lounge. As usual – the colors Ji mixed up are stunning and unique with flawless application.

Morning Light from Yukie of Warmvanillasugar0823 is a light baby blue with a finely milled shimmer infused throughout. It has full smooth coverage with two coats. I like that it’s a baby blue but has a lot of color in it so it doesn’t look too pastel on the nails. The inspiration behind her creation:

“Periwinkle/Forget-me-not blue was one of my dad’s favorite colors. He used that tone a lot in his paintings before he passed away. I love it paired with a soft, golden shimmer or micro glitter. This painting, called Morning Light, inspired the polish. A light, cool blue, with a bit of pale gold light coming through.”

Peachypolish.com from Peachy Polish is an amazing metallic plum. It’s metallic in finish but has an ultra smooth application free of visible brush strokes. The creation of this color went through several variations. According to Ji:

“Valesha gave me very specific color directions and yes, you read this right, she sent me numerous submissions because some of them were technically impossible. Nevertheless, I’m just thrilled that we went in this direction, a new one for the RBL family; we have nothing like this color AT ALL. If you took a combination of raspberries, strawberries and blackberries, mushed and mixed them together and topped this mixture with gold, pink, blue and orange shimmering powders, what you would get is this elegant color. It’s not too dark, not too light, but an elusive medium tone that speaks to everyone. With a streak-less satin finish that’s a dream to apply, this one is definitely a new RBL classic.”

Manicurator is one of the best teal nail colors I’ve tried. It’s a mix of teal, aqua green and baby blue which makes it more wearable for me compared to other bright teals but that being said I do think Rescue Beauty Lounge makes the best blues out there. Manicurator reminds me of a summer vacation. I adore this one. It has a tiny bit of iridescent shimmer flecks inside. Application is smooth and flawless. The inspiration from Victoria came from a moodboard she created:

“All the Turks & Caicos photos are my own! I included the RBL shimmers I adore. I’d like it to be a light, dusty aqua base with a mix of your famous fantastic shimmer :D”

According to Ji:

“Who can argue with the color of lovely, tantalizing island water all-year round? A wee bit darker then our beloved Bikini Bottom, this color has a hint of a green overtone in this fantastical crème-jelly hybrid formula. And of course, like the waters by Turks & Caicos which brilliantly shimmer in the sultry sunlight, this polish is jammed-packed with micro-blue, purple, and green shimmers that will mesmerize.”

Refined and Polished is a stunning peachy orange cream that has blue and silver glitters inside. I’ve never seen a mix as interesting as this one. The blue glitters are visible on the nail (swatched in this post holding the Anya Hindmarch case here). Per Lakeisha from Refined and Polished:

“My dream polish would be coral (more peach or orange-leaning, but not red) with turquoise and gold glass flecks or shimmer. This is a timeless combo that works so well for clothing, accessories, and makeup.”

Makeupwithdrawal is a deep indigo violet jelly cream with multi-colored shimmers mixed in. With two coats the color is almost 100% opaque but the jelly texture makes it semi-transparent. It’s very smooth and applies easily on the nail without streaks. Even though it’s stunning in the bottle, it looks even more incredible on the fingers. Per Mimi from Makeup Withdrawal:

“My perfect shade would be almost if Piu Mosso and IKB 2012 had a child. Not quite as inky as Piu Mosso or as creme-like in its finish, but with some of IKB’s vibrant jelly-like properties (but more purple). I picture it containing large gold particles instead of Piu Mosso’s fine, coppery shimmer. In fact, perhaps even bigger than the gold flakes in Naked Without Polish, but sparse enough to not overwhelm the base color. I am imaging a color that is regal, guilty of hubris (that is, if a color could even be accused of such a thing), something simply exquisite like a lapis lazuli gold filigree necklace.”

One last roundup:

Bottom line all shades are winners. I’m not a fan of glitter polishes but even Refined and Polished is amazing. It’s hard for me to pick a favorite because they are all amazing. Manicurator is the prettiest teal sea green blue, Peachypolish.com is the perfect metallic soft plum wine, Morning Light is an amazing baby blue, Makeupwithdrawl is deep plum jelly perfection.

I spotted a new nail summer polish in Paris at Sephora from Dior called Sundown #464. It’s a shade we didn’t get in the US but was released in other countries. It’s a bright summer pink with a hint of coral (no shimmer). I had this applied on the last week of our vacation – the manicurists used Deborah Lippmann for the base and top coat and my manicure lasted a full week after before tip wear started to occur. (For more swatches you may want to check out Color Me Loud.)

I took it with me to the beach in Mykonos to take photos. Below it’s swatched with two coats:

As soon as I got back home to California, I pulled some other shades to see if I could dupe it. My first instinct was to compare it to other Dior colors. I looked at all my Chanel Le Vernis nail colors as well to see what would be the closest. Dior Sundown is almost an exact dupe for Pasteque from many years ago (now discontinued). I ran out of fingers to swatch them on so I don’t have it shown below.

Swatch-wise, Dior Sundown is a 99% dupe for Chanel Tutti Frutti. The Dior is just the tiniest bit brighter in color, but the base and overall look from arms length is almost identical. Dior Wonderland is the next closest color but several shades lighter and more pink. Dior Aventure has a lot more orange and warmth making Sundown look almost pink next to it. Dior Glory by comparison looks red.

I’m a huge fan of Dior nail polishes. The application is flawless and smooth – once you try one you’ll be impressed with the brush shape and fluid texture. It’s really quite amazing. Lasting power is usually around 5-7 days without tip wear when I use either the regular Chanel Laque Brilliance Extreme, Rescue Beauty Lounge or Dior Gel Top Coat.

As promised I have a post today on the items I bought while traveling in Europe. Out of the ten cities we visited across France, Italy, Greece and Turkey, I did most of my shopping in Paris. At the top of my list was the Diptyque store on 34 Boulevard St. Germain. The store is so beautiful inside – I wish I could transport the entire store to my home. At the store I picked up two items including the Feuille de Lavande Room Spray and the Mousses Candle. I’ve burned through one Moss candle before as it’s available at the boutiques in the US but it suffered really bad tunneling because I didn’t burn it properly the first time (my candle care tips here). For the room sprays there were a number of unique scents. Cypress was really interesting and Mimosa was so pretty. I wish I had bought a few more – we only have three in the US (Figuier, Baies and 34).

First up for splurges are two picks from Fauré Le Page. I’ve been researching this brand via the Fauré Le Page Purse Forum. There are a number of helpful pictures, descriptions and other bits of information on everything Fauré Le Page. The pretty patterns of their bags caught my eye. It has a similar vibe to Goyard which I adore. In Paris I visited two locations: there is a stand alone boutique on Rue Cambon and also a store at Galeries Lafayette Haussmann. I went in for just the Pochette 20 (currently 190 euros). They were very limited on stock for most of the colors, I was hoping for the blue and grey, but were out. The green one is pretty though so I left with one. A shoulder tote called Daily Battle caught my eye (small size I bought was 650 euros). There were two grey versions, one with a light beige-grey trim and one with the navy. It’s very sturdy and made of a thick canvas. The material is slightly textured and looks like it will hold up really well.

Below I’ve posted a comparison of the Daily Battle to a Goyard St. Louis Tote. In Paris the Daily Battle for the small size was priced at 650 euros which converts to a little over $700 making it much more affordable than the Goyard St. Louis totes (last I checked they were priced at $1,200-$1,600ish depending on color). The style is similar – open inside without any pockets and lined with canvas. The finish and textures are different though. The Goyard is thinner in material but still very sturdy. It also comes with a detatchable pouch. Fauré Le Page is thicker with an adjustable strap. There is a ring inside to attach items to but it does not come with a separate pouch inside. Measurements of the ones I have to compare:

Fauré Le Page Daily Battle (small)

17.5 inches wide

11.25 inches tall

base is about 6.25 inches x 12.25 inches

Goyard St. Louis PM

18 inches wide

11 inches tall

base is about 5.25 inches x 13 inches

For the Pochettes the smallest Fauré le Page makes is the Pochette 20 which measures about 6 inches tall by 8 inches wide. Goyard makes a smaller size (shown in black below). The comparable one in Goyard is the same width at 8 inches wide but is slightly shorter at 5.5 inches tall. I don’t remember what the prices were for Goyard, I bought mine a long time ago – I want to say the small one was around $300ish and the medium was at least double. The Fauré Le Page Pouch comes with a detachable wristlet strap and was priced at 190 euros.

At Hermes I picked up two Micro Rivale leather bracelets with the rose gold hardware. I have small wrists and it’s hard to find the leather bracelets in the XS size. Rose Gold is relatively new so I splurged on the ivory and teal leather. A sneaky photo from inside the store.

In Rome, I bought some small L’Occitane Bonne Mere cubes. I thought they were mini soaps but they’re actually bath cubes (oops). I still really like them and wish they were available in the US but the shower gels are just as good and I’ve repurchased the Rosemary and Oilive Oil ones several times over. At the French Pharmacies I was like a deer in headlights. I didn’t pick up a lot because we were traveling with carry on only. I picked up a small Bioderma Cleansing Water, Avene Cleanance Micellar Water for oily skin and a small Nuxe Hand Cream + Lip Balm duo. In the US you can find the travel size Bioderma Sensibio (same as the French Crealine) from Beautylish. The Nuxe Hand Cream + Lip Balm Duo is available online at Nuxe. I haven’t been able to find the Avene Cleanance Micellar Water in the US.

In Athens we picked up a Korres Sunscreen set with SPF 50. The Body Spray is very gentle but lasts a long time on the skin. The Face Cream Sunscreen is amazing as well. I haven’t been able to find the SPF versions in the US.

From Printemps, I picked up their exclusive Primavera Diptyque Candle (launched to celebrate their 150th anniversary) which smells like really sweet roses. I haven’t burned it yet but I’m in love with the white and pink packaging. From Chanel I picked up a few things exclusive to Europe. The Vitalumiere Loose Powder comes with a brush. I picked up three shades, 20, 30 and 40 (right now I’m a match to 40). It’s quite messy but gives enough coverage that you can use it alone instead of foundation or powder foundation. Also new in Paris is the Sublimage SPF 50 which is wonderful. It’s thicker than the UV Essential and acts more like a cream. It has the Sublimage skincare ingredients in it so it’s not just a sunscreen. I wish I had stocked up on a few more tubes while I was in Paris (it was 98 euros). For fragrances almost all the scents had multiple versions and sizes. They have the small concentrated parfum bottles – I was torn between three of them, they were on the pricey side because they are concentrates. I picked up Allure. From L’Artisan I bought a few items as gifts including a fragrance sampler set and the La Chasse Aux Papillons Rollerball (which you can find now at Sephora).

Sephora France was probably one of my favorite places to shop. I left with a few things, I’m surprised it was this limited. I picked up a Dior Nail Polish in Sundown and Addict Fluid Stick in Beige Passion (both of which don’t appear to be available in the US). I also picked up the Addict Fluid Stick in Ciel Rose which is a US color you can find at Sephora. In Paris they had these tiny empty clear containers in the travel section. I picked up several which I think will come in handy for future trips. Also at the check out line were these cute Craig and Karl hand creams. There were two other scents in Peony and Lagoon. I wish I had picked up a few as they had fun designs and prints on the cases. Two other items I picked up: the By Terry Hyaluronic Sheer Lipstick in #3 Nude Pulp (you can find it in the US at Beautylish) and a Chanel Sublime Waterproof Mascara (not available in the US).

Last but not least, I brought home some chocolates, tea and jellies from Angelina and Laduree. A lot of the chocolates are already gone. I’m surprised there is still anything left after a couple of weeks but I’ve been rationing the hazelnut spreads. I may or may not have been hiding them from my husband.

I hope you enjoyed reading about my Europe haul! Next time I go, I will plan the shopping better and make sure I bring a proper suitcase so I can bring home more of the chocolates, teas and one of each of the Diptyque Room Sprays.

First up makeup breakdown. I limited myself to 1 eyeshadow palette. I usually almost always bring one of the Urban Decay Naked Eyeshadow Palettes with me on travel because they are versatile and can be used to create a number of looks. I decided to try something new for this trip and brought the MAC Nordstrom Naturals Palette with me instead. It worked just as well to create a number of different looks – I like that there’s a good mix of matte and shimmer. If you’re limited on space – there are some good browns that can double as brow powder.

Several of you have asked about the Anya Hindmarch case that I’ve previewed on a few posts and on Instagram. I bought mine from Net-A-Porter although several have told me they’ve found it discounted at Duty Free locations while they were traveling. Based on online photos and reviews I couldn’t tell if it was one open case with two openings or if it had two compartments. It has two compartments – one is slightly deeper than the other. It’s fairly pricey for a makeup pouch but the material is very sturdy and it’s very well made.

The MustaeV Bloom Pouch comes in two sizes, small and large. I discovered the line at The Makeup Show LA earlier this year and love them. I brought the large one with me on this trip. The small one was featured in this travel post back in April. I’ve added a repost shot of the large one below to show how it stands up.

For three weeks I brought plenty to last me the entire trip. I did miss my eyeshadow palettes and lip glosses but given the heat and warm weather a good portion of the trip was makeup-free for me so it didn’t really matter. I worried that skipping concealer would be a mistake but my skin has cleared up pretty nicely in the past few months so for face coverage, tinted moisturizers and powder was enough.

In case you missed it, how I packed all my liquids in this post here (Muji containers, clear pouches, his and hers travel skincare, fragrance and body care):

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What do you like to bring with you on extended trips? Do you have any packing tips or favorite carrying cases?

The MustaeV bloom pouch and easy go brush was gifted during The Makeup Show. The Afterglow highlighter was also a gift courtesy of Edward Bess.

There are three new cream blushes in the Chanel Les Beiges collection called Healthy Glow Sheer Colour Sticks ($45 each for 8 g / 0.28 oz). All three have this soft texture that feels cool to the touch. The sticks are easy to swipe on the cheeks and blend flawlessly. Coverage and pigment is quite sheer compared to what you see in the tubes, but they layer nicely to give the face a very natural glow with a hint of color. These blush sticks give the skin a youthful glow with the perfect amount of soft color. If you like color you might want to skip these although I do think they make a good base for powder blush. If you have super oily skin I think these are probably going to also be a skip for you. They stay put for a few hours on normal/combination skin but if you get oily and find blush tends to disappear on you, these will probably do the same.

The three shades have a very tiny hint of shimmer in them. On the skin the shimmer disappears but rather gives the cheeks a glow-from-within kind of luminous look:

No. 20 is a soft bronze with golden shimmer

No. 21 is a warm rose pink with shimmer

No. 22 is a coral with a hint of shimmer

I photographed and swatched these back in May before I left for vacation. Back then my skin was light to medium ranging from a Chanel Beige 20 to 30. Living in sunny Southern California means there is sun everywhere – there’s no avoiding it and I tan easily even with a high SPF sunscreen. On our Europe trip both my husband and I were in the sun a lot with tons of walking, outside tours, and the cruise. We both made the extra effort to re-apply sunscreen constantly, wore hats, and on some occasions I tried to wear long-sleeved tees to cover my arms but it was extremely hot and many days tanks and tees were the only option for me. I got quite a bit darker and went from a Chanel Beige 20/30 to the darker end of Chanel Beige 40.

Back in May, all three were perfect for my light/medium skin. Weather here was moderate but warm so lasting power was really good since my skin didn’t get oily. I went back and forth debating whether to bring one with me on the trip but opted for Tom Ford Pink Sand instead. Now that I’m a few shades darker I tested these again for the past two weeks to see how they wear on darker skin. I also wanted to see how long they would last on the skin now that the temperatures are warmer and a bit more humid. On my Chanel 40 skin, the Bronze No. 20 disappears on me after 1 minute of wear. It gives the cheeks a very soft contour but after I blend I can’t see much of anything. The Pink No. 21 and Coral No. 22 still show up on my skin, but I find I need to apply + blend + let sit, then repeat with one more layer for the color to show up. The effect is still similar – you get that very natural glow with a hint of color. Now that I’m darker the colors have more of a glow finish versus color. I have them swatched below and blended out on Chanel Beige 30 skin (from last month). To see how these look on fair skin you might want to check out Café Makeup for swatches of the pink and bronze.

Close ups of each shade:

Ingredients:

Comparison swatches to the Charlotte Tilbury Beach Sticks in Las Salinas and Ibiza (currently on Chanel Beige 40 skin). Below you can see the Chanel and Charlotte Tilbury colors are different. Concept is similar in the way they give the skin a natural glow. Charlotte Tilbury’s have a sweeter vanilla scent and more visible shimmer flecks. Chanel’s smells like their UV Essential Sunscreen and has a more natural glow with finely milled shimmer.

One last shot:

In warmer humid weather I find these fade within 2-3 hours on the cheeks. In hot summer weather I have a hard time finding any makeup that is truly sweat-proof (some eyeliners and mascaras have exceptionally good lasting power). In moderately warm weather they last at least 5 hours without fading. All three give a really pretty soft glow. They are easy to apply and if you’re timid with blush these are goof proof. I truly believe these are impossible to overdo because they blend out so nicely on the cheeks. My take is that the pink and coral are musts for me. I’ve been wearing the pink one a lot. The bronze performed better when I was lighter in skintone. Right now I’m too tan for it to show up. On fairer skins these will perform more like a regular blush.

There are four new Le Vernis Nail Colours ($27 each) in this year’s Les Beiges Collection. The four beiges remind me of some of the classic sheer pink and beige colors Chanel had back in the 90’s – but in modern form and with better coverage (I remember the older ones being super sheer!). I picked up all four shades at the counter over a month ago – I know many of you have been asking for swatches, apologies for the delay! All are sheer in coverage with a super smooth streak-free finish. There is enough pigment that it will cover the nail entirely with two coats. Here’s a quick peek at the Chanel Les Beiges display:

Beige Rose is a sheer glossy baby pink, it has a bright quality to it so on my hands it actually looks pink even though it’s light in undertone. With this one two coats gives pretty good coverage but has a slight jelly finish.

Beige Pur is a sheer neutral beige. Out of the four this one is the sheerest on me. I think nude beiges can be hard to pull off sometimes with my skintone. If a nude nail polish color is an exact match or has too much warmth the color can make my hands look corpse-like or skin look sallow. I think your mileage may vary depending on your skintone with Beige Pur – I personally really like it on the hands. It gives them a neutral polished look.

Precious Beige is a warmer dark beige on my Chanel Beige 30 skintone (I was a Chanel Beige 30 when I swatched these last month, right now I have a tan and am more along the lines of Beige 40/50). It has a tiny bit of shimmer mixed in throughout but on the nail it looks more like a cream. The shimmer is still visible if you look at the nails up close.

Lovely Beige is the darkest of the four colors. This is a medium warm beige tan on me. I like that it’s warm but not too warm (like Intention was on me). There is the slightest hint of a terracotta pink undertone in Lovely Beige.

Based on the swatch comparisons, I couldn’t find a dupe for Beige Rose. It’s a few shades darker compared to other pale pinks that I own. Beige Pur resembles a more beige version of Chanel Jade Rose (discontinued). It’s also similar to Chanel Secret but the Beige Pur has more brown/beige undertone. For Precious Beige I think Tom Ford Toasted Sugar is the closest option (the Chanel is a bit warmer in undertone). Precious Beige is the closest dupe I’ve found to the long discontinued Sahara Beige Nail Polish. Chanel Lovely Beige is a warmer tan version of Dior Incognito.

Overall I find the four Les Beiges Le Vernis shades to be lovely polished classics. They offer good coverage with a slightly sheer finish making them easy to wear and apply. Texture is smooth and streak free which is a huge plus for pale nail colors (although Chanel almost always makes colors with good pigment and coverage). Being neutrals I do think there are other less expensive brands that have similar colors. My personal experience is that nudes and beiges need to have the right mix of white, cream, tan and beige to work on my olive skin. If it’s too warm it makes the hands look yellow. If it has too much grey or white it ends up looking like a pale white pink. Chanel, Dior and Louboutin do nudes and beiges the best in my experience – although depending on your skintone you may find other brands work just as well.

I give Beige Rose and Precious Beige a huge thumbs up for color. I could have skipped Beige Pur and Lovely Beige – they are lovely colors, I just prefer the other two. Bottom line is that they are definitely worth a look.

Several have asked about how to make Chanel polish last. I do believe the base and top coat make a huge difference in extending the wear. On several occasions when I have professional manicures and forget to bring my own base/top coat, I find tip wear and chipping occur by Day 2. For me the Chanel Nail Polish + OPI or Seche Vite combination just doesn’t work. OPI Top Coats doesn’t make the polish last and Seche Vite causes major shrinkage around the edges of both the cuticle and tips which makes tip wear occur much faster. Both are good brands but they work better with other polish brands.

Out of all the base and top coats I’ve tested, my top two favorite base coats are the Deborah Lippmann Rehydrating Base Coat which seems to be discontinued (or maybe being repackaged?) and the Formula X Base Coat. For top coats Chanel Laque Brilliance Extreme and Rescue Beauty Lounge are my holy grails. With Chanel Fall there is a new base coat called La Base and a new top coat called Le Top Coat which is supposed to be a quick dry product. I just purchase both and will be testing in the next couple of weeks.

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